WARNING Contractors are Losing Time & Money by Using Inadequate Time Cards ARE YOU ONE OF THEM? TRACK TIME. MANAGE TIME. REPORT TIME. 888.836.2720
HELPING CONSTRUCTION BUSINESSES SAVE MONEY It used to be a hammer was the go-to in the tool belt just as a written time card was the way everyone tracked time. But using outdated business tools, such as inefficient paper time cards, produces the same end result as being under-equipped on the job site. Using outdated tools takes longer, the results aren t as good, and it s more expensive long term. Now, with an eye on labor efficiency, quality and profit margins, every contractor makes the investment into power tools on the job. Unfortunately, when it comes to tracking time, there are still a lot of employees pushing a pencil. You DON T HAVE TO spend a lot of time or money to automate your time cards. Most of us, at one time or another, get caught up using the same tools we ve always used, or even whatever s handy. For small companies, this might mean using manual tools like paper time cards. Meanwhile larger companies might be caught in a hodgepodge of clocks and software programs that are typically not integrated nor do they support timely and accurate billing and payroll processes. Contractors often tolerate the inefficiencies because they believe that automating the process of invoicing, billing and payroll will take a lot of time and money and that it s tough to get a payback. None of that is true anymore there are great time tracking tools available that deliver a great return on a relatively small investment. 1
INEFFICIENCIES IN A CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS THAT DRAIN TIME AND PROFITABILITY With so much focus on jobs and customers, it s easy for contractors to put off finding and implementing productivity tools to help manage their business. Odds are, however, that labor costs are one of the top three expenses for a contractor, and there are a number of real costs associated with using outdated time tracking tools. 1 2 3 LET S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THESE COSTS: SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY. Employees who manually fill out time cards often forget to complete their daily entries, much less accurately remember their start and end times. The whole process of reminding employees to log their hours is a time sink, and even more unproductive when businesses have to chase down missing entries to process payroll and invoices. INCORRECT TIME CARDS LEADING TO PAYROLL ERRORS AND OVERPAYMENTS. Inaccurate times lead to costly payroll errors that are time consuming to resolve and can create extra payroll charges to fix. In addition, employees simply logging in their scheduled hours may not accurately reflect their real on-the-job time, leading to overpayments and unnecessary overtime pay. UNNECESSARY OVERTIME. Overtime can be a major expense for contractors and one that is not typically included in the job estimate. Unfortunately most contractors don t know an employee may be subject to overtime pay until the payroll gets calculated at the end of the pay period. Then it s too late to manage the expense. 4 DELAYS IN CUSTOMER BILLING. Delays in getting bills out means that payments and cash flow - are impacted. Having the right information on a timely basis is critical to a contractor s billing and profitability. A good time tracking tool will track in real-time, and employee times will be ready for billing when the business is. 5 LACK OF INFORMATION TO BACK-UP INVOICES. When projects involve time and materials there s a good chance customers may ask questions about the actual work time charged to their project. Manual timesheets typically don t provide the detail to answer those questions. 6 LESS CONTROL OVER PROJECT COSTS. Contractors typically price their work based on experience and expertise. Accurately tracking employee time to the project is critical to making each job profitable. Being able to monitor the time on each project means matching the time spent to project milestones on up to a daily basis - providing greater visibility and control for each job. 7 LIMITED JOB COST DATA, HINDERING MANAGEMENT DECISION-MAKING. Information on actual job costs is a valuable asset. It can affect job profitability and also be a useful reference on future project estimates WHEW! That s a long list of drains on time and money for any construction business, and really, seven good reasons why contractors should power up their time tracking, and not just their power tools. 2
Now you can have the RIGHT TOOLS for the job and Save even more time & money Today, with so many great tools available and affordable, contractors know that the right equipment is a smart investment. A good tool pays for itself; it makes work more efficient and produces more consistent, quality results. Successful contractors and subcontractors - commercial and residential - who choose the right tools get better results on the job site and in the office. Managing daily time, overtime and project labor costs with a good time tracking tool can make a big difference in bottom line results and even deliver significant payback with features that match the way you do business. Here s what to look for when choosing the right time tracking tool for your business: a good time tracking tool can make a big difference in the bottom line Mobile flexibility. Employees can go directly to the jobsite in the morning and use their mobile phone to clock in and out (no need to come in to the office to fill out their time card). Successful time trackers have apps with GPS tracking for smartphone users, for employers to verify their employees are on site when on the clock. Real-time tracking. Paper timesheets are prone to error whether from writing down the wrong time or just forgetting to fill in the timesheet until the end of the week and making it up on Friday. A real-time tracker keeps payroll accurate and saves your bookkeeper hours in collecting and deciphering illegible handwritten time cards. Manages overtime. Good time tracking solutions have alerts when someone is approaching overtime letting employers decide if they want to incur the cost before it happens. Overtime costs can throw a real wrench in job profitability so this kind of visibility is key to managing projects. Accounting system integration. Avoid unnecessary and error prone data entry by choosing a time tracking solution that syncs directly with your accounting and payroll software. One-click syncing from your time tracker to QuickBooks or any other accounting system, will save your bookkeeper hours and simplify payroll. Know who s working. A good time tracking tool can show employers and supervisors who s on the job, at what site, at any given time. With one look on their smartphone, they can tell what project their employees are working on, and how long they ve been working on it. Someone hasn t arrived on the job as scheduled? Quickly reallocate employees to cover before the customer calls. Magical. Real-time job costing and reporting. A necessity for monitoring project costs and managing projects effectively. Employers can view employee times by customer, project or task, compare estimates to real costs, and generate new proposals even more effectively. There are many time tracking solutions available today that can provide time and cost benefits to your business, so carefully consider the needs of your shop to make the investment a success long term.
LIKE HAVING A FRIEND IN THE BUSINESS TSheets is a Web-based time tracking solution designed by real business people to work in real life conditions. TSheets provides contractors and businesses everywhere with an easy-to-use employee interface, real-time tracking and job costing, detailed reporting and a seamless QuickBooks integration - all while reducing administrative time on the payroll side. TSheets accurately tracks employee work hours via smartphones, cell phones, tablets, text messaging, and Twitter, enabling employees to enter their time from the field and on the job, using the mobile device they already have. For businesses who work in crews? TSheets offers a CREW App, designed specifically for supervisors to clock entire crews in/out with their smartphone. Versatile, mobile and accessible TSheets is the #1 employee rated and requested time tracking system on the planet. 4
Construction LOVE I will reiterate that one of the things I really like about TSheets is that I can check on my employees hours daily and know what job they were at and how many hours they were there. It allows me to stay on top of their total hours for the week so I can make sure they stay within the 40 hour weekly limit or approve OT if it is needed. No surprises at the end of the week when time cards are turned in. - Julia Rivas, Final Phase Construction Economical, Easy To Use, Best Customer Service! I started looking for a mobile app for our construction business. It was challenging to say the least with all the laws and workmans comp rates I needed to track. TSheets was the answer, and it was an absolute wonder to be able to track each employee with the job they were on, and the workmans comp class of work they are doing! It doesn t do all the calculations on that part, but I was thrilled to be able to import to a spreadsheet with the calcs set up. When I called CS they were the best I have ever dealt with! App is easy to use, approvals by managers is easy, and set up is very easy. Love this app! -Barb61 fromcitrus Heights, CA, via apps.com Easy for anyone to use. Our employees were reluctant when I told them we would be using a new system for clocking in and out. They are all in the field on various construction sites every day, sometimes more than one location a day. They were all pleasantly surprised at how easy it is for them to clock in and out, and to switch between activities and customers. The set up process was made easy by very helpful staff who walked me through everything very patiently! -Jen from Mankato, MN, via apps.com TSheets has really helped save my company money. Billing Time and Materials work is a breeze and there is no more hunting down timesheets. This system has been a gift. Also, the company is very responsive to suggestions, incorporating them quickly to make my job even easier. The system easily pays for itself; it is highly recommended -Jennifer Reed (Executive Assistant), One Call Construction, Inc. 5